MONTPELIER — Despite challenges mostly attributed to weather, Vermont ski areas reported a season of continued growth.
“With strong visitation and continued year over year growth, Vermont remains the top ski state in the east and fourth largest in the nation, measured by skier visits, a key performance indicator for the snow sports industry,” a news release states.
Alpine and cross-country ski areas, industry partners and supporters gathered for Ski Vermont’s 56th Annual Meeting at Sugarbush Resort on June 4 and 5. Ski Vermont also is known as the Vermont Ski Areas Association.
Vermont’s alpine ski areas reported 4.16 million skier visits for the 2024–25 season, representing an increase of 1.1 percent over the previous year and 6.2 percent over the 10-year average, according to the news release from Ski Vermont after the meeting. The totals are said to put Vermont 0.6 percent ahead of the New England region’s 0.4 percent growth and 0.6 percent behind the national average visitation increase of 1.7 percent.
Vermont’s ski areas averaged 117 operating days this season, slightly lower than the 10-year average of 123 days, according to the news release. Ski Vermont said average snowfall of 218 inches was a 19-inch increase over last year, and 35 inches above the 10-year average.
“The growth in visitation numbers reflects the commitment Vermont’s ski areas have to providing the best experience and best possible snow for visitors,” Ski Vermont President Molly Mahar stated. “Ski areas are committed to investing in resilience for their communities, with capital dollars going toward efficiency and snowmaking projects as well as expanded programming and activities to appeal to a wider range of guests.”
The ski season had a slow start in November, Ski Vermont said, then “the core winter months of December, January and February delivered consistently seasonable weather and temperatures with abundant snowfall, particularly in the northern mountains.”
“Blustery and frigid weather dampened peak period visitation over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend and Presidents’ week,” the news release states. “The lack of March snowfall and inclement weather during spring weekends further reduced visitation, and an early melt cut the spring season short.”
Another challenge involved “the Canadian response to rhetoric from the federal government, resulting in decreased visitation toward the end of the season,” according to the news release. Ski Vermont said Canadians account for up to 50 percent of visitation at several ski areas in the northern part of the state.
“Vermont’s ski areas will continue working with the tourism industry to strengthen relationships and keep lines of communication open with our neighbors to the North,” the news release states.
Consistently cold winter weather was described as “a boon for Ski Vermont’s cross-country area members.” They reported a total of 322,353 skier visits, up 37 percent from last season when 50 percent of visits were lost.
Kelly Pawlak, former general manager at Mount Snow Resort and former president and CEO of the National Ski Areas Association, accepted an Industry Achievement Award for her contributions to Vermont’s ski industry.
Career Industry Awards went to Keiki Sierman (46 years) and Alan Donahue (42 years) from Killington Resort, and Doug Zecher (57 years) and Terry Randolph (36 years) from Bromley Mountain. These awards are given to retiring employees with 25 or more years of service at a ski area.
